1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of caps having visors and, more particularly, to a baseball-style cap with a sweatband having improved appearance and perspiration absorption capability.
2. Description of the Related Art
A baseball style cap generally includes a crown main body, a visor portion that is secured to the forward edge of the crown and extends outwardly therefrom, and a sweatband attached to the lower part of the inside of the crown. The sweatband is constructed from bias-cut fabric sewn together with vinyl and nonwoven fabric to absorb perspiration from the forehead.
Side and cross-sectional views of a conventional sweatband are shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A. As shown, fabric 5 is cut in the bias direction to a desired length and folded to overlap. The overlapping section of fabric is sewn with a row of stitching 6a and the other edge of the folded fabric is sewn with a second row of stitching 6b. This type of sweatband has an incomplete appearance and also lacks adequate perspiration absorbency.
A second style of conventional sweatband is shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A. As in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the fabric 5 is cut in the bias direction to a desired length. However, in this style, subsidiary materials such as nonwoven fabric 10 and vinyl 11 are layered with the fabric 5 which is then folded over such materials. The overlapping section of fabric is sewn with the materials using two rows of stitching 7a, 7b. The materials 10, 11 act to improve perspiration absorption, but also increase production cost. Similarly, FIGS. 3 and 3A depict another conventional sweatband having nonwoven fabric 10 incorporated therein and secured with four lines of stitching 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d. Like the style shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A, the style depicted in FIGS. 3 and 3A has increased production costs due to the additional material 10, and also results in reduced productivity due to the additional sewing and manhours required to cut and fold the fabric with the subsidiary materials.
Accordingly, a need exists for a cap having a sweatband with improved perspiration absorbency and appearance, which can be constructed efficiently and at low cost.
In view of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to provide improved productivity in cap manufacture by eliminating the need for sewing a joint portion of a sweatband.
Another object of the present invention is a cap having a complete appearance which is aesthetically pleasing due to the weaving of a tunnel-shaped sweatband.
Yet another object of the invention is a cap with reduced production requirements, having a sweatband made by weaving of a yarn which has a good perspiration absorbency in itself, thereby eliminating the need to add subsidiary materials which would otherwise be necessary to increase absorbency.
A further object of the present invention is a sweatband for a cap which, through selected stitching, can serve as a guide line for cap manufacturing workers responsible for sewing the sweatband to the lower part of the crown of the cap.
In accordance with these and other objects, the present invention is directed to a cap having a sweatband woven of stretch or non-stretch yarn. The sweatband is woven in a tubular manner so that the resulting fabric is tunnel-shaped, forming a tubular channel, with no need for stitching to form the tube. With this construction, manufacturing is simplified and, due to the good perspiration absorbency of the fabric, no subsidiary materials are necessary.
These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.